Wisdom of the Elders
by loomweaver
Summary: Even in another world, some things never change. Oneshot.


Mia Fey had plenty of time to kill.

It wasn't like there was much to do in the isolation of a Detention Center cell. Her trial date was coming up shortly, and her chances of an innocent verdict were looking quite slim. While she had nothing but faith in professionalism of her mentor, Marvin Grossberg, she knew the man better than anyone, and thus, she held no illusions regarding her fate, especially once she considered the prosecutor in charge of the case.

Phoenix Wright.

She heard a lot about the man, hell - she had seen him in action. Impeccable blue suit, impeccable confident poise, impeccable spiky hair, and, most importantly, an impeccable court track record to seal the deal. Everything about the man screamed of cold, almost inhuman perfection. A bona fide prodigy of the judicial world, a prosecutor famous for his calm, controlled confidence with which he destroyed defense attorneys' arguments with ease.

So when a scruffy-looking man and sporting a stubble and a colorful beanie approached her cell casually, his hands hidden in the pockets of his wrinkled hoodie, she couldn't be blamed for wondering how a hobo managed to enter the Detention Center.

He sized her up with a stare that would make anyone feel uncomfortable, before flashing her a suave grin.

"I must admit, I never imagined I would one day see you on the other side of the glass, Ms. Fey," the man said, rubbing his head through the beanie.

"...Do I know you?", Mia asked warily, unsure of what to make of the stranger in front of her.

It was only when he flashed his prosecutor's badge that she realized just who was standing in front of her.

"P-Phoenix Wright!" Mia all but sputtered, her mind reeling, unable to reconcile the scruffy man in front of her with the image of the cold, inhuman, perfect machine of a man she witnessed her mentor lose against in court firsthand.

"W-what are you doing here?" she spit out, taking a moment to regain her composure, and with it, animosity towards the man who likely condemned numerous people to an unfair trial and execution, all in attempt to maintain his perfect record.

"I thought you would know, what's with all the people you interrogated here as a defense attorney and whatnot," he answered jovially, as he raised one of his brows. "I must take into account all evidence available in order to ascertain the truth. If I simply dismissed your testimony because you are a suspect, what kind of prosecutor would I be?"

"Yeah, right," Mia scoffed at the man's words. "Why should I trust a single word that comes out of your mouth?"

"You shouldn't," Phoenix said without skipping a beat. "That's the beauty of it, really."

Mia could do nothing but stare at the man, confused by his choice of words, prompting him to continue.

"Trust and doubt are a two-way street, Ms. Fey," he lectured patiently in the same infuriatingly casual tone. "You can't truly trust people if you never doubt them. You can't truly doubt people if you never trust them. It is my job as a prosecutor to doubt you. But how can I doubt if I never even had a chance to listen to your side of the story?"

"Pull the other one, Mr. Perfect Record", Mia responded venomously.

"This might come as a surprise to you, but my perfect record isn't unmerited", the man noted in a tone that could've been considered almost offhanded. It's not that I convict anyone regardless of the circumstances of the case. Rather, I prosecute the cases where I am assured of the guilt of the suspects."

"And of course you would be the one to know who is innocent and who is truly guilty," Mia couldn't help but roll her eyes.

"Maybe, maybe not," Wright's eyes twinkled in amusement. "I assure you, I conduct a thorough investigation before I even think of taking the case. Besides, I need to maintain my reputation if I want to change the way people are tried in this country."

The offhanded remark nearly made Mia's thought process screech to a halt as she processed it.

"...What do you mean?", she asked cautiously.

"Defense and prosecution are just two sides of the same coin named Justice", Wright lowered his tone to a cold, frosted whisper that brought Mia to shiver. "And if neither does their job properly, then we might as well live in the dark age of the law."

He exited the Detention Center with a gait full of spring, whistling jovially the Steel Samurai theme to the best of his ability, content with his successful interrogation of Mia Fey that followed their brief exchange.

While Phoenix Wright was surprised to find himself in this new world, he found himself growing naturally into the role of prosecutor.

It was true he never took a case where he wasn't assured of the suspect's guilt, thanks to the Magatama he possessed, his little ace in the hole.

But when Mia Fey was accused of the murder of Redd White, he knew he had to take the case and ensure the innocent verdict, his perfect record be damned. After all, another prosecutor might've gotten it wrong.

He wondered about his legacy, after his untimely death in the world he left behind.

The fates of the people he loved. The Jurist System he poured so much sweat and blood into, and which he now attempted to duplicate in this world too. The void that was left in his wake.

But he now had another life, other people to turn to that he befriended in this world during his little crusade to turn the justice system inside out and prevent the dark age of the law from ever occurring. Franziska von Karma. Justine Courtney. Byrne Faraday.

But most important of all, he had an obligation to pursue the truth. And that wasn't something he could ignore, another world or not.


End file.
